SN Power and Tata Power will own equal stakes in the venture and plan to build plants capable of generating 4,000 megawatts of electricity from water by 2020 in India and Nepal, according to a joint statement issued in Mumbai on 30th october. Tata Power may spend 150 billion rupees ($3.2 billion) over the next five to eight years to build hydroelectric plants, said S. Ramakrishnan, executive director for finance. '
SN Power, based in Oslo, is owned by Statkraft SF, Norway’s largest utility, and Norfund, an investment company financed by the Norwegian government. The company operates hydropower plants in Latin America, Asia and is expanding into Africa though a unit, according to the company’s Web site. “Together, we have the ability to raise international financing, which is important for large infrastructure projects,” Oistein Andresen, president and CEO of SN Power, said.
Tata Power and SN Power may also co-develop the Tamakoshi 3 project in Nepal for which the latter holds licensing rights. The projects in India will be developed through special purpose vehicles in which Tata Power will hold 50 per cent of the total issued and paid-up capital.
Besides, Tata Power and SN Power will also establish a jointly-owned services company in India, which will provide each project with world-class technical and managerial expertise.
Tata Power at present has around 450 mw hydro power capacity in India, but SN Power is world’s fifth largest renewable power generating company.